A company that stores your inventory and handles fulfilment for you: receiving stock, picking and packing orders, shipping them and processing returns. Stow is a 3PL.
The core warehouse task: selecting (picking) the right items for each order from the shelves, then packing them safely for shipment. Usually priced per order plus per extra item.
Everything that happens between a customer clicking buy and the parcel arriving: storage, picking, packing, shipping and returns.
A unique code for each distinct product variant you sell, for example a specific size and colour. Inventory is tracked at SKU level.
A written commitment to specific performance standards, such as a same-day dispatch cut-off or a pick-accuracy target. If it is not in the SLA, it is just a promise.
The daily deadline by which an order must be received to ship the same working day. Order before the cut-off and it goes out today.
A stock-rotation method that ships the items closest to their expiry date first. Essential for food, drink, cosmetics and supplements.
A stock-rotation method that ships the oldest inventory first, regardless of expiry. Common for products that age but do not strictly expire.
The handling of returns: receiving, inspecting, grading, restocking or disposing of items a customer sends back, and triggering the refund or exchange.
Moving goods straight from inbound to outbound with little or no storage in between, to speed up dispatch and cut storage cost.
Shipping orders between countries or customs territories, such as from the EU into the UK, including the duties, VAT and paperwork that come with it.
An EU scheme that lets sellers collect VAT at checkout on low-value imports, so parcels clear customs faster and buyers avoid surprise charges on delivery.
A consumption tax applied in the EU and UK. Cross-border ecommerce has to charge, collect and remit it correctly, which a 3PL helps you handle.
Stock arriving at the warehouse from you or your supplier, to be received, counted and shelved before it can be sold.
Assembling multiple separate items into a single ready-to-ship unit, such as a bundle, gift set or subscription box.
The share of order lines picked correctly. A key quality metric: low accuracy means wrong items, refunds and unhappy customers.
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